Spencer/Behind the Scenes
Behind the Scenes Gauge 1 model Spencer's model was scratch-built to run on gauge 1 track. Spencer and his tender were cast from moulds and he was one of the very few engines during this era to be made from fibreglass resin. Spencer's body ended up being widened by model-maker, Ray Lovell. His axles were to accommodate the non-scale sideways shift to cope with tight curves. Nine different facial expressions were worn by Spencer on screen. The faces were first sculpted in clay and from that resin casts were made using a silicone mould. Two faces were sculpted by model-maker, Jeremy King. The model was track powered, so pick-up contacts were attached to the metal wheels, which ran into the motor to power it. The electricity ran from the track to the wheels/pick-up contacts and went into the motor to power him. Spencer's chassis was built by model-maker, Steve Knowles. The eye mechanism had two servos, one for up and down movement and one for left and right movement. The up/down servo was attached to the body. The left/right servo had a rod attached to the arm, which connected to a bracket. The eye balls were coupled to the bracket and locked in by the face-plate, so whenever the servos were powered, the eye balls would move however the crew member desired. Unlike his basis, Spencer's smokebox had a less angular shape in order to accommodate the eye mechanism inside, although a spare prototype raw casting shows him designed as a proper A4. This trait was carried on into his CGI model during the TV series' switch to computer-generated animation. Spencer could often be seen with miniature scaled figures inside his cabs and these figures represented his driver and fireman. Unlike Mallard, who's face was seen in the Railway Series, Spencer's face was separate from his smokebox. Spencer has had modifications throughout the model era. These include: * In the eighth series, Spencer's bronze buffers were changed to silver ones. * In the tenth series, his blue-grey livery was changed to metallic silver. One of Spencer's models used to be on display in Canada at Nitrogen Studios. File:SpencerModel.jpg|Spencer's 2004 promo File:SpencerNitrogenStudios.png|Spencer's model at Nitrogen Studios File:ToppedOffThomas26.png|Spencer's clenched face mask that only appeared in the tenth series episode, Topped Off Thomas (2006) Close-up model Several close-up shots of Spencer's cab was required for scenes in the eighth series episode, Edward the Great, where he had to interact with close-up scale figures. The model was not complete and only portions of the cab were built. The model was also equipped with a bell. File:EdwardtheGreat9.png|Inside Spencer's cab File:EdwardtheGreat57.png|Outside Spencer's cab File:EdwardtheGreat66.png CGI model In 2009, the series introduced Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) as a replacement for the show's long-standing live-action models. Spencer was recreated from scratch in CGI by Nitrogen Studios. His model was "hand-sculpted" in Maya, a 3D animation and modelling software. Photographs of Spencer's Gauge 1 model were used as reference. According to Greg Tiernan, every detail of the original television series models for each character is carefully reproduced in the CGI model. The models are subjected to many rounds of review before they are submitted to HiT Entertainment for final input and approval. Spencer has had modifications throughout the CGI series. These include: * In the nineteenth series, he gained two LNER headlamps and a tail lamp. * In the twentieth series, his livery became much more reflective, including a light grey smokebox. * In the twenty-first series, he received a detachable snowplough, which was the same design as Emily's. File:SpencerCGIModel.png|CGI promo File:Head-OnSpencerPromo.png|Head on CGI promo File:SpencerRearTender.png|Spencer's tender File:SpencerLeftSide.png File:SpencerRightSide.png File:Who'sThatEngine?Spencer2.png|Leading wheels File:Who'sThatEngine?Spencer3.png|Driving wheels File:Who'sThatEngine?Spencer4.png|Buffers File:Who'sThatEngine?Spencer6.png|Funnel and whistle Voice Actors * Kerry Shale * Matt Wilkinson * Glenn Wrage * Yasuhiko Kawazu * Shigenori Sōya * Till Huster * Oliver Rohrbeck * Marek Robaczewski * Paweł Galia * Espen Sandvik * Tony Marot * Leonardo García * Danny Houtkooper * Reinder van der Naalt * Paul Disbergen * Gadi Levy * Dor Srugo * Torbjørn Hummel * Ángel Amorós * Taisto Oksanen * Juhani Rajalin * Vladimir Antonik * Denis Bespaliy * Anton Savenkov References Category:Behind the Scenes Category:Images of Spencer